Low Vision

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Low Vision
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Low vision is

• A level of visual disability that causes
  difficulty in carrying out everyday tasks

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95 of people with low vision have some level of
useful sight.
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Legally blind

• Unable to see the top letter of the chart (or
  6/60 line) with the better eye
• Less than 10 degree visual field (normal is 180
  degrees)
• Eligible for government benefits

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Low vision can be caused by

• Inherited conditions of the eye
• Ageing conditions of the eye
• Trauma

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Diagram of the eye
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Retinitis pigmentosa

• Inherited (usually), degenerative condition
• Rare (14000)
• Night blindness, reduced visual field
• No treatment is yet available

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Normal retina
Retinitis pigmentosa
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Cataract

• Cloudy lens inside eye
• Congenital, trauma or age related
• Usually an operation is possible but not always

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Age related macular
degeneration

• Mostly in older

population

• Affects central vision

• Sight can be distorted

• Sometimes patches are missing

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Glaucoma

• Disease of the optic nerve
• Affects peripheral vision first
• Difficult to detect in the early stages
• Often pressure in eye will be elevated

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Trauma

• Scarring of cornea
• burns
• foreign bodies
• infections

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Diabetes

• Commonly affects retinal blood vessels
• Severity depends on
• amount of time diabetic
• control of blood sugar level
• Regular review is necessary

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The role of optometrists in low vision

• Ensuring best possible vision through
• glasses (reading or distance)
• magnification aids
• lighting advice
• Ongoing monitoring of the health of the eyes

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Optometrists

• No referral is required
• To find your nearest optometrist
• Yellow pages
• NZ Association of Optometrists
• 0800 4 EYECARE (0800 439 322)
• www.nzao.co.nz

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Other services available to people with low vision

• Royal NZ Foundation of the Blind
• Phone [phone]
• www.rnzfb.org.nz
• Retina New Zealand
• Phone [phone]
• www.retina.org.nz